MAHWAH, N.J., March 10, 2025—The CulinArt-managed dining services operation at Stryker, in Mahwah, N.J., is now a Compass Center of Excellence, one of just 44 operations across Compass Group.
The purpose of the CFE program is to identify best-in-class businesses and utilize those locations to provide a standardized orientation experience. CFE is a distinction reflecting excellence in core areas including financial management, quality assurance and safety, wellness, sustainability, and digital experience.
Stryker’s Café 325 is the centerpiece of the operation, which is the first CulinArt account to become a CFE in the post-pandemic era. It offers a full complement of concepts including entrees, deli, grill, pizza, and more, and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including some activity on Saturdays. The population averages about 1,200 employees per day, and Café 325 consistently captures more than half of that volume. A Starbucks coffee bar in the main building, a Market in a satellite building, and Eatify online ordering add to the business.
General Manager Rob Horton oversees a staff of 30, including six managers and two dozen hourly associates. Eighteen culinary staff received CulinArt’s culinary certification prior to the CFE audit, which itself resulted in a near-perfect score. “We shocked ourselves with the score,” Horton says. “It truly was an entire team effort, from our managers to our hourlies—a true team effort in every way, shape, and form, and we are so happy to be the first [CulinArt] account since the COVID years to have this award.”
(CulinArt’s first-ever CFE honor went to One Stamford Forum, in Stamford, Conn., under the direction of Diane Russo, now overseeing dining services at Charter Communications.)
“This award means a ton to our company,” add Peter Witkowski, CulinArt president. “It sets the example and the bar we all want to [aspire] to. It’s also a place we can bring [other team members] to train, learn, and share best practices.”
Click here for a video featuring comments from Horton and Witkowski at an award celebration staged at Stryker Mahwah last month.
CulinArt’s partnership with Stryker began in 2017 including cafés in New Jersey and Florida, and expanded two years later with a café in Redmond, Wash. Five cafés in Kalamazoo, Mich., were added in last November, and two cafés opened this year in San Jose and Fremont, Calif. More openings are expected in other parts of the country later this year.
